


it’s been a long, long time

by galacticlions



Series: jaith [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crying, Hugging, M/M, Voltron Paladins - Freeform, james is a strong bf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-02-28 16:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18759727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticlions/pseuds/galacticlions
Summary: kiss me once, then kiss me twicethen kiss me once againit's been a long, long timehaven't felt like this, my dearsince I can't remember when*takes place once the paladins return to earth and after melancholy mondays*can be read as a stand-alone





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i forgot to add something in the notes of melancholy mondays and it is: “hoes mad”

Cold. It was so cold. Keith didn’t like the cold anymore. It was bitter and sour, nipping harshly at his skin. He rubbed his hands up and down his arms which were covered in his paladin suit. He was siting in the Black Lion with the other passengers, including: Krolia, Shiro, and Coran. 

They were sleeping peacefully in the cockpit, where it was probably cold too but they were all surrounded by body heat, whereas Keith was sitting alone in his leather chair alone with the company of the silent paladins on the intercom.

Lance would occasionally sing out a lyric softly to himself, then Hunk would join in, and Pidge would pretend to be mad, but she ended up singing the same song too. 

Keith didn’t know the song, but he wish he could so he could try to at least socialize a little with his fellow soldiers. He only knew very old songs. 

The songs he listened to were on dusty vinyls that his father had saved from his family members down the line from the 20th century maybe. He listened to it on repeat back at the lonely shack, where he danced alone in the kitchen or in his room, or when he was hunting down where the crazy energy source was emitted. 

He missed it. He hoped his precious vinyls were still there. 

Keith leaned his head back against the head rest of the seat and closed his eyes with a deep sigh. A flash of soft brown shown through the darkness of his closed eyes. Then gray. Then pearly white teeth. Then a strong jawline and cute ears. 

He opened his eyes. He felt them water with regret and sorrow. He hiccuped a sob. Keith couldn’t believe how he coped without apologizing to his boyfriend back home. He couldn’t believe how he coped with the aching dread that roamed all over his body every time he woke and went to sleep. 

He desperately hoped James was okay back home. 

Silent tears streamed down his cheeks delicately, almost as if they were scared to drop down his thighs and dissolve. 

More tears streamed down his face pitifully. Keith regretted everything he said. 

Keith wanting nothing more than to cup his tears and pour them into the nearest ocean to let them drown and vaporize, turning into sorrowful clouds then rain down wherever James is at to let him know he’s sorry. 

Keith took his tired hands off the controls and wiped his face. Clearing any evidence of the tears.

”Keith, you good? You haven’t talked in a while.” Hunk asked sincerely that it made Keith’s heart ache.

Keith sometimes forget that his friends do care, it took him a while to get it through his stubborn skull, but he knew it. 

“Yeah.” Keith croaked, his voice raspy from absence. “Fine.” 

It was silent from there, leaving Keith to drown in his own mind. His mind started to wander again to the dark crevices with warning signs and screaming alarms. 

What if James isn’t okay?

What if James replaced him?

What if James is dead?

No. Keith stopped there. He inhaled a shaky breath, and exhaled. He repeated the process, letting his heart rate slow back into its normal pace.

James if fine, Keith managed to convince himself, and he still loves you. 

 

“How much longer Pidge?” Keith asked, trying to mask his anxiousness through impatience. Pidge hummed and she went silent, probably calculating in her smart head.

”Approximately 3 hours.” She replied. Keith tightened his grip on the controls in front of him. 

These 3 hours will pass by in a heartbeat. 

 

The paladins continued to drive in solitude. The space all around them made Keith feel helpless and trapped. No sign of civilization anywhere, other than stars, stars, and stars. 

Before he knew it, Keith was humming a tune from one of his favorite songs that were on vinyl. One of the many songs he and James used to listen to when they were trying to sleep. 

It was a bittersweet memory, but it left a sour taste in his mouth.

”What’re you singing?” Lance yawned, his voice raspy from fatigue. Keith made a sound of confusion.

”What?” Keith questioned, and the team chuckled through the intercom.

”You were singing a song.” Pidge said matter-o-factly. Keith imagined her nose sticking up, but her mouth in a smile.

Keith tried to recall. Oh. 

No one, other than Shiro and Lance, know about James. Might as well tell them know while they’re in the endless extent of space.

Keith cleared his throat awkwardly before speaking.

”It’s a song me and my boyfriend would listen to before we fell asleep.” He answered simply. His voice was steady, which Keith was grateful for.

”That’s sweet.” Pidge and Hunk said at the same time, making them erupt in laughter. 

“I actually have the song recorded. I always have it with me, since I would sneak into the Garrison to go with him.” Keith said softly, his heart warming at the memory. 

“Play it for us, yeah? Must be better than all this quietness.” Lance suggested. 

Keith complied and started to play the song through the intercom. The paladins were silent. Keith shut his eyes when the trumpet started to play. He tried to imagine himself next to James, warm and safe. He tried to imagine himself in bed with him, holding him close to his naked chest when Keith had his familiar nightmare. But, he couldn’t. All he could see was nothing. He could feel the silence and tension the night before he went up to infinity. 

The song ended a little while later.

”Didn’t know you’d like really old songs.” Hunk said after the song was over, his voice filled with obvious joy and satisfaction.

”Yeah, well, I own a lot of vinyls from before we were born, and before Shiro was born, and before my dad was born, and so on..” Keith explained with a smile on his face.

He remembered when his dad gave him the vinyls. He was little, probably around eight years old, still struggling to comprehend the cruelties of the world as well as math that now seemed like the easiest thing. His dad took Keith’s hand in his rough one, leading him to a closet near the stairs and grabbing a heavy stack in the above shelf. 

Keith looked at the vinyl sleeves in pure amazement. They were dusty and their cover picture was faded, sure, but they were still so beautiful. 

It was one of the many beauties that were once available and now are so rare and precious. 

Vinyls were hard to come by. Now, everyone wanted it in their phones, everything technical, but the simplicity of having music played from an ancient disc was magnificent. 

His dad told him to take good care of them if anything ever happened to him. 

Something did happen to him, and Keith kept his promise.

 

There was a crackle. A frightening one at that, since the paladins were silent again. 

“What is it?” Keith asked immediately. Pidge hummed in utter confusion, then tried the audio once more. She broadcasted it into all Lions.

Keith’s ears went numb, his blood seemed to stop running. 

The Galra have invaded Earth.


	2. Chapter 2

When the news have been received, the whole team woke up, including the animals, and they made a quick plan.

Hide the lions on a planet and try to blend in with the Galra fleet with Keith piloting.

It was a dangerous plan, but they were desperate to get home.

Fortunately, the plan had worked, they crash landed in the desert that overlooked a city that has been crumpled down to its very weak knees. Buildings were collapsed and broken, cars abandoned, and streets cracked.

Keith felt his heart squeeze and his breath shorten. It was odd to see once a healthy, growing city, turn into an eerie ghost town. 

Drones started to attack once the team wandered into the city. They were easy to eliminate, but once they started to crowd around the team, it became overwhelming. 

A gun shot. Then another one did. Figures with suits began to run and a vehicle ran over a sentry. 

It wasn’t a foreign vehicle. It was the Garrison’s.

Keith stood up from behind a car he was crouched against and grumbled, “I had it.” Keith’s eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed, he was fully capable of protecting himself. 

He turned around to see who shot the enemy. His breath got caught in his throat. His heart started to run a marathon and his eyes started to water. 

It was James. He was fully clothed in a Garrison suit with a gun in hand. He looked different, Keith noticed. His body now well built, his height increased, and his posture more confident and hostile due to his surroundings.

They made eye contact. It felt dangerous. 

He felt James’ stormy eyes bore into his with weak hostility and Keith stared back, but his stare soft. 

James let out a small grumble and headed back into the vehicle where the team piled into. 

It was a long drive from Plaht City to the Garrison base, especially when the tension could be cut with Keith’s blade, created from James and himself. 

Thoughts began to plague Keith’s mind on the ride there.

He doesn’t love you anymore.

He found someone new.

He doesn’t remember you.

Keith managed to keep them under control until they arrived at the base. 

The greetings were bittersweet. Pidge was the first to hop out the vehicle into her mother’s warm arms and Lance jumped out and went down on his knees to hug his nephews and his family piled on top of him. 

Keith stepped out carefully. He felt like he didn’t belong on this territory, he was kicked out and suddenly they’re desperate for him to come back.

James was leaning against a vehicle. He took off his helmet and started to walk away. 

Keith felt himself gravitate towards him. He walked into the Garrison itself. The halls seemed different. Maybe smaller? His height did change drastically, and his shoulders now broader. 

He could almost remember everything. He could almost remember his little self wandering these halls late at night to sneak out to hang out with Shiro, or his teenage self to sneak into James’ room to have sleepovers or do certain activities that gave him an addictive rush. 

He missed it all. Keith never knew nostalgia until now, and he supposes it’s now a friend.

Keith was finally into James room. James seemed to know Keith was curiously following like a duckling. The door shut behind him.

There was the silence again, hello neighbor.

”James, look. I-“ His breath got caught off again. “I’m sorry. I should’ve apologized. I’m so stubborn you know? Plus, I didn’t know I was going to disappear for literally like 6 years, you know?” Keith was rambling now, might as well let it all out now while he was at it. 

James back was still turned to him. Keith’s eyes were glued to the carpet. 

“I’m sorry. If you don’t l-“ And that’s when a flash of orange, white, and grey crossed his vision and in a blur of pale skin and brown hair, familiar but foreign lips were pressed to his in a bruising kiss. It hurt his lips deliciously, Keith wanted more, more, and more.

He missed the taste of James’ mouth, it was like honey and something faintly of sweetness that Keith couldn’t seem to get enough of. Keith’s lips remembered the texture and warmth of the other boy’s lips and it was overwhelming. It was intoxicating. 

James’ kiss and lips felt like syrupy, nostalgic memories. The kiss felt like home. 

Their lips broke apart. 

“James.” Keith exhaled heavily and shakily.

”Stop talking.” James quickly said before kissing him once more. Keith felt the tears flow down his cheeks in waterfalls, he felt his cheeks bloom with passionate flowers, and he felt his heart grow as big as it can. 

Their lips broke apart with a wet smack, but then quickly joined together again with need and forgiveness and desperation. Their mouths deprived of the particular affection. Their teeth clashed and their tongues danced, it was messy but neither boy brought themselves to care.

They broke apart again. 

“I’m sorry, too.” James finally said. Keith shook his head and leaned his forehead against his. Like some sickening sweet fiction book written by a lovesick teenager, they stared into each others eyes. They gazed into the swirling galaxies their eyes held, almost as if they’re trying to count every single star and discover each constellation or create new ones that no one has ever seen.

James kissed Keith’s head sweetly, he let his lips linger there for a little while. 

”I miss you so much.” James whispered, his voice so soft, almost like a fluffy cloud. Keith felt his tears run once more.

”I missed you too.” Keith replied and shut his eyes. He leaned his forehead against James shoulder.

He cried into his shoulder. He finally let his tears go after years of holding them in. James wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist and Keith wrapped his arms around James’ shoulders, clinging onto him like he was afraid to lose him. 

“I have your vinyls, by the way. I know how important they are to you.” James murmured into his ear, making Keith shiver. 

Keith let his fingers run over the hair behind James’ head. He kissed James’ cheek then rubbed his nose against it, loving the warm that spread throughout his body from the simple action that he’d been wanting to do for a while.

”Play one?” Keith suggested softly, James nodded. They broke from their warm embrace and James picked out the vinyl from the top of the stack. It seemed as if had always been the top, waiting for James to pick it up and play it. 

James delicately took it out the sleeve and gently placed it on the record player. He lifted the stick and placed it on the crevice. The vinyl stuttered then sprung into life. 

The beginning instruments began to play. 

James stood in front of him again. Keith wrapped an arm around his shoulder, the other holding James’ hand. James’ other hand placed on his hip.

They started to gently sway to the music with small steps and in synchronization, which Keith didn’t know how they did that, but it didn’t matter. 

All that mattered was that he was forgiven, and that James was safe with him, at home.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last update until the end of next week lol bc finals!!
> 
> anyways i cried three times today because i’m stressed
> 
> my head hurts so bad
> 
> ok bye luv u


End file.
